Spit it out! - 19/24
Author: Daniela
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Pairing: Greg/Grissom
Rating: PG13
Category: Angst, Romance
Series/Sequel: Breaking the Ice
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I love them dearly.
Summary: They have to talk things out.
Warning: Slash, M/M, Spoiler for "Viva Las Vegas"
Feedback: Yes, please. It's the icing on my cake.
Email: daniforblue@yahoo.de
Released: November 2004
Revised: July 2021
Word Count: 2849
Beta: Erika
Greg hung around the break room, glooming over a cup of Blue Hawaiian coffee.
Nick came in, being all smiles. "Hi there. How's it going?"
"Fine," Greg growled, yet his shoulders slumped.
Nick's smile faded away. "What's up? Are you moody, because Chandra left?"
"Not at all," Greg snapped, gripping his cup.
Nick fetched himself an apple from the fridge. "Is it because you caught Warrick and me betting about it?"
"Don't flatter yourself. I couldn't care less." Greg rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee without pleasure.
Nick sat down opposite to him. "What's going on then?"
"Nothing much." Greg sighed, running his fingers over the table.
Nick bit into his apple.
"It's not important." Greg shrugged, doodling unrecognizable shapes on the table.
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Come on, spit it out. It can't be that awful."
Greg squirmed in his seat. "Yeah, well, I messed up big time."
"In the field? I heard about that. So what? You made one mistake. It's happened to all of us."
Greg hid his face in his cup. "Grissom was...uh...." he mumbled, and swallowed gulps of cooled down coffee.
"What? I didn't get that."
"Grissom is... uh... really disappointed in me," he spluttered, coughing, then slumped even further down in his seat.
Nick chuckled. "Well, you sure made one silly mistake."
"Great. I'm feeling much better."
"Calm down. I'm just kidding. I'm certain Grissom has already forgiven you."
Greg snorted. "Sure, he has."
Nick winked at him. "You know, you're his favorite lab boy."
Gee! Watch it! Greg's ears started itching with heat. "Stop that."
"Oh sorry, I meant favorite CSI," Nick joked, pointing at the fruit in his hand. "The apple of his eye."
Greg glared at him. "Quit it."
Nick chewed down his apple. "Why don't you go home and forget about it? Meet up with Alan and have some fun."
The maddening itching spread from Greg's ears to his face. "That's very unlikely." Only if I want to get fucked against the wall by my jealous lover.
"He's back in town, isn't he?"
"Yeah, sure, but I won't meet him."
Nick shrugged. "Whatever suits you."
Greg fiddled with his empty cup. "Nick, if you want to ask something - just ask."
"All right." Nick leaned in. "Why didn't you tell me you're gay?"
"I don't know. I'd always wanted to. I tried a few times, but I never found the right words."
Nick patted his arm. "Take it easy. I'm not mad at you. Watching you every day at work, it wasn't that hard to figure it out myself."
"What do you mean?" Greg said, fighting the urge to scratch his burning face.
"Well, for one thing I noticed you have a big crush on our boss."
Duh! Greg froze. Since the day he had been outed by Alan to his friends and co-workers he had feared they would figure out the nature of his feelings for Gil Grissom eventually.
Gil and he had been involved for a couple of months now and met mostly at Gil's apartment to talk and make love. Afterwards they went to work separately. At the lab they acted naturally, as if nothing at all had changed in their relationship. Gil was the master of pretending but Greg wasn't sure about his own performance. He had doubted nobody would notice anything, and now his doubts were confirmed. Yeah. The shit hit the fan.
"That's nuts," he lied to Nick's face anyway. He couldn't tell the story without Gil's approval.
"Is it? Why are you checking him out all the time then?" Nick swallowed the last piece of his apple.
Greg's face burnt like fire. "I don't."
"Sure you do. I actually caught you checking him out your first day working here."
Holy shit! Greg choked on nothing but the truth.
"Don't say you were checking out Catherine," Nick mocked, shaking his head.
Greg gasped for air. Yeah, well, he had nothing.
"Come on, I can understand, you're keen on Grissom..."
"Nick, please..." Greg pleaded, checking the room for unwanted listeners.
"...he's good-looking, mysterious, educated and pretty untouchable," Nick finished with a smirk.
"Well, sure, he's an attractive man but he's not my type."
Nick clicked his tongue. "Really? Doesn't he look at lot like Alan?"
"Grissom looks much better," Greg blurted, and then he cringed. Idiot!
Nick laughed. "So, you are hot for the boss. Anything else I should know about?"
"For God's sake! Keep your voice down."
"Sure! What about Alan?"
"What about him?"
"Doesn't he have a chance to win you back?"
"Never," Greg decided, not shy about that matter. "He cheated a lot on me. I never want to go through this hell again."
"I understand. You look for someone faithful. Someone you can trust. Sounds just like Grissom, doesn't it?"
Greg jumped up. His chair toppled over. "That's it! I'm going home." He rushed out, leaving the chair where it was.
Nick's grin widened. "Yeah, do that. I'm sure you'll get what you're looking for."
*****
Aimlessly Gil shifted through his papers. He wanted to go home but he feared the confrontation with Greg. He had been very harsh to him about his failure in the field. Greg had appeared so sad, like he had never seen him before. Slouching like a scolded kid, he had walked out of his office and down the hall. Oh God, Gil thought, I knew it wasn't smart to get involved with a subordinate. I always knew. But I walked right into this mess anyway. Now, I have it. I deserve this for being stupid, for being weak to fall for a lab boy. Me, gruesome Grissom. Gil snorted. Something else troubled him as well. Greg had once said that he loved him but since that day the sentiment had never touched his lips again. Well, Greg never complained or asked for any commitment on Gil's part. Their relationship appeared to work without it. Surprisingly, that troubled Gil. Every day a little bit more. Gil didn't have a clue what to do about it.
"Still here?" Catherine peeked in.
"I'm already on my way." Gil stood up, noticing Catherine's beautiful outfit as well as that she had cried. Oh hell. More problems to complete a disastrous night. "Didn't you want to go out?"
"I changed my mind. I came back to do my paperwork."
"Is everything alright?" he asked, despite his reluctance to interfere in private matters.
"Yes, yes. Only man-trouble." She smiled bitterly. "Like yourself."
"I have no-"
"I heard about Greg's failure in the field," she interrupted him.
"So?" he huffed. For god's sake! Bad news spread like bushfire around here.
"Gil, it can't be easy to be his supervisor and-"
"I don't mix business and private matters," Gil cut her off.
"You don't want to, but it's not as easy as it sounds."
"I don't," Gil insisted, though he felt a whiff of doubt wafting through the room.
"Does Greg know?"
"He will."
"You know how sensitive he is."
"No, how could I?" Gil said dryly, shaking his head.
"Right." Catherine smiled.
In the next second Gil froze.
"What?" Catherine frowned, and turned around.
The sheriff walked into the office. "Good evening, Gil. We need to talk. Hello, Catherine."
"Hello sheriff," Gil greeted him coldly.
"Sheriff," Catherine said, pursing her lips. "I leave you two alone." She bundled off.
Gil envied her. He needed to consider his approach regarding Greg. He didn't need a discussion with sheriff Rory Atwater. "Does this have to take place now?"
"Yes - now." Atwater took the seat in front of Gil's desk.
"Well, what is it?" Gil said, bewildered. He dropped back into his chair.
"I heard your CSI trainee messed up big time."
Who spreads the gossip that quickly? Gil wondered once again, tensing up. Hodges? "I'm the supervisor. His failure is only my responsibility."
"Is your judgment in this particular matter objective?"
Gil narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, sheriff?"
"I'm expecting the best CSIs to work in the field. I can't allow any failure. Do I make myself clear?"
"Certainly, sheriff," Gil replied icily. "I'll see to it."
"That's all I wanted to hear." He got up, adjusting his jacket. "You can keep enjoying your evenings with your co-workers then." He smirked and then he was gone.
Gil almost broke his glasses gripping them, as mad as he was at the sheriff, at Hodges, and even Greg, though mostly at himself. This mess was his fault. He shouldn't have left Greg to work a Crime Scene alone. It had been too soon. Right. Come on! He grabbed his briefcase and left for home to fix at least one of today's problems.
*****
On the way to the small cupboard, which Gil called her office; Catherine passed the locker room, where she saw Nick changing for home. "Hey. Did you see Greg?"
"Yeah, sure, yet he left half an hour ago."
She sat down on the bench beside him. "How is he, considering?"
"Fine, though a bit sad and disappointed. He wasn't eager to go home."
"I can imagine," Catherine muttered, nibbling on her lip.
Nick threw her a peculiar glance. "Don't worry. Greg will be fine."
"You really think so?" Catherine said, slipping out of her heels.
"I'm sure, given that a comforting shoulder is waiting to ease Greg's sorrow."
"I don't believe he's running to Alan."
"I'm not talking about Alan."
"I don't understand..." she said, rubbing her feet. Damn heels.
"I'm talking about the hot make-up sex Greg will probably receive."
"...what's that supposed to mean?" she declined, though the twitch of her lips gave the truth away.
"I'm sure you know what's going on."
Catherine chewed on her lip, stalling time. She didn't know if she should confess the truth to Nick or keep denying it. Did she have the right to say anything about the private matters of friends to another friend? Should she make that step and betray their trust?
"Relax," Nick set her on ease. "It's not as if you're betraying Greg."
"What do you mean?" she kept yielding him, puzzled.
Nick was finished changing. He stretched his body. "It was some party we had at my house, huh? Coming all together, even Sara, Alan's outing of Greg, the secret kissing in my kitchen...."
She blinked. "What?"
He winked at her. "Apparently, my kitchen is the perfect place to make out."
She chuckled. "They didn't."
"They did. It was a mind-blowing visual forever burnt in my memory."
She laughed. "Come on. I can imagine Greg doing that, but..." she hesitated, still undecided on how much Nick really knew.
"...Grissom would never do that, right?" Nick finished frankly.
For a second, they looked at each other, stunned, and then both burst into laughter.
"Gil must have lost his mind," Catherine said, after she had calmed down a bit.
"It's rather his heart," Nick corrected her.
"You truly think so?"
"Seeing the way he was acting lately, I'm pretty sure."
"I only know that Greg's in love," she confessed, now that she was able to share the burden of such a secret. "He told me."
"Greg told me nothing. He doesn't have a clue I caught him kissing Grissom. How long do you know they're fooling around?"
"A few months."
"Months! Wow. That beats everything."
"I just confronted Gil one day and he didn't deny it."
"Well, after what happened today, do you think he and Greg can work out that problem?"
"Gil assured me that there is no problem at all."
Nick shook his head. "That's so Grissom. I guess Greg will unteach him."
"Yeah, I agree. I'd like to be a fly at the wall watching that row."
"Do you?" Nick opened the locker room door for her. "That's naughty."
"Well, I need a goody to make myself feel better."
"Oh? You wanna talk about it?"
"No, thanks, I'll rather bury myself in paperwork."
"Sorry. Love sucks, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
*****
Gil closed the door of his apartment, seeing Greg standing in the kitchen. "Hi."
"Hi," Greg replied, yet he wasn't looking away from cutting laces of salad.
Well, at least he's talking to me. I'm surprised he came here anyway. I expected he would stay at home, being mad at me. "What are you making?"
"Sandwiches." Greg didn't offer to make one for him too.
Fine with me, Gil mused. I'm not very hungry anyway. He went to the bedroom to change into fresh clothes. Afterwards he visited the bathroom to refresh himself. Coming back to the living room, he found Greg on the sofa. A beer and a plate of sandwiches rested untouched on the table in front of him. The TV was running but Greg didn't pay any attention to the program.
Oh yeah, he's pissed. Gil took the place next to him.
Greg moved further to the right and grabbed the remote control.
Gil repressed a smile. Come on. If you're that mad, why'd you bother to come here anyway? "I'm sorry Chandra left," he said, to pull that tooth right away.
"Yeah, right!" Greg snapped, playing with the remote.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"About what?"
"Greg, don't pretend. You know..."
"...I don't wanna talk about it."
"Greg, don't do this."
"There's nothing to talk about," Greg said, squaring his shoulders.
"I thought that was my line."
"Yeah, and I absorbed it."
Silence. Greg kept playing with the remote control, pushing the buttons nonsensically.
Well, time to make a point. Gil snatched the thing out of his hands and switched the TV off.
"Hey!"
"Look at me."
Greg didn't.
"I said look at me."
Greg obeyed, though his eyes sparkled with anger and sorrow.
"I'm sorry for being that harsh today. I didn't mean-"
"Yes, you did," Greg interrupted him, thrusting his finger into Gil's chest.
"No, I had to," Gil explained, happy about the physical contact. "That's the difference."
"But why in front of Hodges?" Greg accused him, still thrusting.
Gil sighed. "For that I'm terribly sorry. It was inappropriate. I won't do that again."
"Don't be so sure. Chances are that I'll fail you several times."
"You won't. First off, because from now on I'll be a better supervisor."
Greg smiled for the first time since Gil did come home. He stopped torturing Gil's chest. "What did you do wrong?"
"I should have stayed with you and given you better instructions." Gil winked at him. "Certainly, from now on you have to pay proper attention to those instructions."
"I did pay attention," Greg said, frowning.
"Oh, you did, did you? While talking about 'one-night stands in the morning'?" Gil teased, settling back.
"I was only pointing out a thought. I'm a professional. Sex isn't on my mind at work."
"Is that right? I vaguely remember you saying you fantasize a lot about it."
"You got that wrong. I don't fantasize about sex at work."
Gil smirked.
"Okay... not all the time," Greg murmured, leaning into him.
Gil pulled him closer and ruffled his hair.
"I only fantasize about you," Greg said, snuggling him.
"Well, what about now?"
"What now?" Greg's innocent expression was priceless.
Gil rubbed his cheek against Greg's. "What about fulfilling some of those fantasies of yours right now?"
Greg breathed against Gil's skin.
Gil let go of him. "Got it. Considering what happened today it's not appropriate..."
"You're kidding, right?" Greg picked up on the banter and tugged at Gil's shirt.
"No, no. Those were hard days for you, you must be exhausted."
Greg played with one of the shirt's buttons. "Don't worry about me. Worry about you." He opened the button and slipped a hand under the shirt.
"Do you have to remember everything I said?"
"Certainly. You're my supervisor."
"You're reminding me of Brass."
Greg snickered. "That's true, considering what he said today. Do you think he's suspecting?"
"Possibly."
Greg fondled Gil's curly chest hair.
Gil sighed and sank deeper into the sofa, pulling Greg down on him.
Greg opened more of Gil's buttons.
Gil ruffled Greg's hair considerably.
Greg laughed. "You like it messed up, don't you?"
Gil drew him in for an overdue kiss. "Pretty much."
"I think this's going to be a long night."
"No shit Sherlock." He and Greg kissed at last and stopped thinking about work or appropriate behavior for a long time.
*****
The moon was shining through the window when the phone started ringing. Sleepy and confused, Greg fumbled around to find the annoying thing and make the noise stop. He succeeded. "Yes, what is it?" he mumbled dreamily, sprawling. The phone was ripped from his grip then. The light went on. Hey! Greg squinted, puzzled.
Gil glared at him. "Grissom," he answered the call, and then he listened.
Greg winced, shocked about his stupidity.
Gil frowned. "I'll be there as soon as I can." He switched the phone off. "A new case. We have to go."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Greg unwrapped himself from the blanket. Gee! Now, of all times.
"By the way," Gil shot him a deadly look, "the sheriff says hi."
